Here’s Why You Should Learn AngularJS

We asked trainer Ben Finkel for his top 5 reasons people should learn AngularJS.

So, you’ve been tasked with writing a new web portal for your department at the office. Or maybe you’re learning web application development, and are ready to move beyond basic HTML and CSS. Perhaps you just need to update your resume with some newer technologies. Even if you simply want to learn some cool techniques for developing dynamic web pages, eventually, you’ll hear about AngularJS.

AngularJS is part of a new wave of Javascript libraries that are hellbent on making programming for the web easier and more fun. There are a lot of options out there, but here are five reasons we think you ought to take the time to learn AngularJS:

1. It’s powerful: AngularJS has the ability to expand the capabilities of your web applications well beyond basic HTML, CSS, and Javascript. With two-way data binding, custom directives and services, and client-side validation with i18n localization options, AngularJS web applications are dynamic and flexible. There is very little your web page can’t do with AngularJS powering it.

2. It’s simple: This may seem contrary to the previous point, but AngularJS is clean and easy to implement. The AngularJS mission statement is: “Simplify the Web Development Experience.” Angular keeps all of the heavy lifting neat and tidy under the hood, so you only need to use simple hooks and straightforward syntax to implement its powerful features.

3. It’s testable: AngularJS was designed from the ground up to be testable. By using the Model-View-Controller framework and encouraging sound development practices, Angular takes the pain out of unit testing your code. It also comes with an end-to-end scenario runner — so you can easily run automated unit testing scripts with barely any code!

4. It’s interoperable and extensible: AngularJS goes out of its way to be accommodating and helpful when integrating with your existing technology stack. As a Javascript client-side tool, it can be used with any server-side technology that you’re already comfortable with or have implemented. It also plays nicely with other client-side technologies, and can be adjusted to avoid interfering with them. The AngularJS library itself can be easily modified or extended by the developer, using the features built into Angular so you can always customize it to meet your needs.

5. It’s popular: We all know that in the development world, technology fads come and go. AngularJS, however, has been widely used since 2010, and is growing more popular every day. The website http://builtwith.angularjs.org features an array of companies implementing AngularJS, from Fortune 500 brand names to hot new startups. AngularJS has become a key skill for every developer!

These are just five great reasons to learn AngularJS. Want to know more? Check out my AngularJS training course, and learn all of the other awesome reasons to add Angular JS to your arsenal of skills!

Editor’s note: Still not quite sure what AngularJS is? Ben created a MicroNugget just for you called “What is AngularJS?“.